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Reviews For: Kanglong KL-H3

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Hand-held

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Review Summary For : Kanglong KL-H3
Reviews: 1MSRP: 34
Description:
Kanglong HESENATE KL-H3 Dual Band Two Way Radio 3-Second Quick Scanning 5-Watt 2200mAH 136-174/400-520MHz Ham Radio Portable Walkie Talkie with Program Cable
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.amazon.com/HESENATE-KL-H3-3-Second-Scanning-400-480MHz/dp/B01MDQP0W8/ref=sr_1_1
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0014
PREP Rating: 2017-04-16
A workable, nice-looking HT that competes with the UV-5R Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.

HESENATE KL-H3 Dual Band Two Way Radio 3-Second Quick Scanning 5-Watt 2200mAH 136-174/400-480MHz Ham Radio Portable Walkie Talkie FREE Program Cable


I have found that it helps when reviewing the onslaught of new radios, to have a good frame of reference. In the case of radio-comparisons, that means to find some Known radio that is somewhat close to the new one. For the KL-H3, at least one radio to compare it to is the BAOFENG UV-5R (or 5RE, 5R+,5RA, 5R Plus, 5R-etc, etc. <-- with the exception of the newer 8-watt and DMR ones, these are all essentially the same). The price of both devices is right around $35/shipped.


So let's take a look at the Kanglong KL-H3 as distributed by HESENATE.


Out of the Box
==============

The KL-H3 comes packaged with the components individually wrapped and a small peel-off clear plastic display cover. The box itself is not sealed.


What Do You Get
================

A PAPID (sic) charger, cord/plug, belt-clip, manual and radio/antenna/battery -- but also a programming cable, which is a add-on nice feature on a $35 radio.

The antenna is all of 6".
It does seat nicely inside of a flange/ridged-well on the radio to cut down on the impact of moisture.

#tip: Don't be alarmed if the antenna seems to wind onto the radio a long while (almost like the connection is broken and turning within the antenna housing). It just takes about twice as many turns to seat it as you would normally expect. <- of course, don't force turning the antenna either. It locks up well (when it finally does).



"Inconsistencies"
=================

Like some other Chinese manufacturers -- there are some inconsistencies between what you are sold; and what you get.

With the KL-H3, it is the battery.
The Amazon listing says that it is 2200mAh -- and that is what is printed on the re-seller sticker (see figure) that is on the box.
But 4800mAh is what is actually printed on the battery.
...Do not think, that you are getting a great deal in that. The re-seller told me that some of the manufacturers just print higher mAh numbers on the batteries; knowing that they are actually lower.

Since determining what the actual mAh is can be a tricky thing for customers -- the manufacturers are getting away with this.

I will be running some tests on this one and will report back on the real-life mAh.

For now, I can only confirm that it takes 6+ hours to charge the battery from a completely dead state.


The "Look and Feel"
===================

The KL-H3 is not quite as aircraft-carrier-like, rectangle-ish as the BAOFENG UV-5R is. Don't get me wrong -- at first glimpse, it *looks* like a UV-5R, but there are slight differences.

The screen is a bit larger on the KL-H3.
It does not have a LED light, like the UV-5R.

The finish on the case is nice. Slightly (tiny) pebble-grained.

Inside the battery well of the radio is printed:

136-174
400-470
5 watts
DC 7.4v
Li-Polymer

and, 4800mAh is printed ON the battery (see figure).

The radio is light (Weight: 130g) and easy to hold for a long time.

Note that this radio is 5-watts, while the UV-5R is 4-watts, which provides a slight edge to the KL-H3.



IN USE
======

The display is BAOFENG-ish.
See figure.
Note that the radio has the BAOFENG style Orange, Blue and Purple colors available.
Like the BAOFENG, the screen is darker blue than shown in my flash-affected photo.
Also, the KL-H3 shares the visible back-light on the side of the screen -- framed with the red rectangle in the photo.

Also shared is the inability to lock the back light on for more than a few seconds. This is a drawback during night use.


The physical number keys are smaller than on many radios - probably the result of the larger display. The keys are also slightly recessed and surrounded by a more-sharp-than-not ridge. The combination of these two things can make the keys a little hard to get at. Especially the top most ones.


The radios' menus are not in the same exact order as the BAOFENG. Somehow I really expected them to be so. :-)

The one thing that stood out in the menus is that the step minimum is 5.0 kHz -- with options for 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 10, 6.25, and 5 kHz.

Even though the 136-174 400-480 frequency ranges are printed on the box;
and 400-470 is printed in the battery well,
the radio can actually reach 400-520 out of the box. Without any programming tweaks.

The one thing Kanglong promotes is the scanning feature; which does work fairly well, skipping from station to station very quickly until one is hit (albeit at a minimum step of 5.0kHz) and staying for a decent time on a channel when a reception is found. Pressing the up / down arrow while scanning does switch the direction of the scan, as you would expect.



Is It Worth it?
===============

Viewed as a UV-5R competitor, the KL-H3 is fine for the price.

It is a workable, nice looking radio (that I'd like to see slightly larger keys on; the ability to lock the back-light on; and a minimum step of 2.5kHz).

4 out of 5 stars.




Main Features
65MHz-108MHz(only commercial FM radio reception)
Frequency Range: 136-174mhz & 400-520mhz
Tri-color LCD illumination
128 channels UV Durable Walkie Talkie
Priority channel scan
50 CTCSS and 104 CDCSS
High / Low Power Setting
Selective call, Group call
Remote dizzy, Stun & Activate
Programmable 25kHz / 12.5khHz channel
Voice operated transmit vox
3 Seconds Quick Scanning Frequency
ANI Coding, BCL, TOT, FM Radio
8 groups' of scrambler
Tone calling 1750Hz tone
General Specification
Frequency Range: 136-174mhz/400-520mhz
Channel: 128
Frequency Step: 2.5ppm
Antenna: 50OHM
Operating Temperature: -20°C~+50 °C
Dimension: 58mm*110mm*32mm
Weight: 130g
Duty cycle 03/03/54 min(Rx/Tx/Standby)

Transmitter
RF Power: 5W
Type of modulation: FM
Emission 16K F3E/11K F3E(W/N)
Maximum Deviation =5KHZ/=2.5KHZ(W/N)
Receiver
Receiver Sensitivity: 0.2uV(at 12dB SINAD)
Inter-modulation: 60dB
Audio output: 1000mW